Burnout is a heinous condition that seems to be impossible to remedy. Once you find out that you’re dealing with burnout, it’s natural to wonder if you’ll ever find relief. You may be asking yourself, “Can you be permanently burned out?”
One can be permanently burned out. However, this is only the case if nothing is done to remedy burnout. When people take steps to combat burnout, they may see improvements over time, though it could take months to years to overcome.
If you thought that you were doomed to suffer from burnout forever, this not necessarily true. In this article, we will talk more about the healing process associated with burnout, in addition to how to most effectively come out of it. If you’re interested in learning more, then keep on reading!
Burn Out Can Last Forever
Anyone who is dealing with burnout wants to get rid of it at the snap of a finger. They may be on the hunt for an anti-burnout quick fix or expect for the condition to go away on its own. If left untreated, burnout may get worse and worse over time, eroding your sense of purpose, destroying your career, and even ruining your life.
Burnout can last forever if nothing is done to get rid of it, and healing from the condition is a long journey for most people. On top of that, no burnout treatment will work for everyone. To alleviate your burnout, you must take steps to reshape your mind and your work environment, and the treatment steps will look different for every burnout sufferer.
How Long it Takes to Get Over Burnout
If burnout is not permanent, how long will it last? The time that it will take to get over burnout varies widely and is usually determined by the following factors:
- How long you’ve been dealing with burnout: The longer you display burnout symptoms, the longer it could take to heal. Over time, burnout symptoms (self-doubt, detachment, demotivation, cynicism, dissatisfaction, etc.) become ingrained in your mind and become harder to eradicate.
- How severe your burnout symptoms are: Burnout symptoms often start out subtle and become more severe over time. For instance, if a feeling of inadequacy, helplessness, and sadness turn into full-blown depression, it could take longer for you to find relief.
- What methods you are using to remedy burnout: Some burnout remedies work well for some and are ineffective for others. Discovering adequate treatment for burnout means trying multiple things to see if they work for you. You can find burnout treatment tips later on in this article.
- How intensely you’re working on getting rid of burnout: If you try things to combat burn out one week, then stop for the following month, and then jump back on the wagon, there is not much consistency or intensity in your efforts. Being consistent in your burnout treatment means that you work constantly on changing your thought processes and routine to stave off burnout symptoms.
Some people may take several months to more than a year to find relief from burnout. For mild cases, some find relief within a matter of weeks, while those with severe burnout may take more than a year to heal. So, don’t expect to get better in a day.
Adjust your mindset to the fact that treatment for burnout can be time-intensive and non-linear. And, more than anything else, rejoice because there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you can get better!
How to Get Over Burnout
As briefly stated earlier, the journey to burnout recovery varies for everyone. However, there are some steps that you can try to get over burnout. You may find that one tactic, or a combination of several, alleviates your burnout symptoms entirely.
Find an Exercise Program You Like
To put yourself on the path of alleviating burnout, you should get active. Without adding extra stress to your life, find an exercise program that you like. Why? Because exercising does wonders for the body and mood.
Your mind may have gone straight to the stress and hustle of going to the gym. Well, you don’t have to go to the gym to reap the mood-boosting benefits of exercising. You can try incorporating one of the following types of exercise:
- Swimming: You can swim in your backyard if you have a pool, or you can swim at a public pool in your area.
- Taking up Zumba: Zumba is known for its upbeat dance moves and music. There’s no room for stress in a Zumba class!
- Practicing yoga: Yoga is known especially for its ability to help you reset and clear your mind after a rough day.
- Adventurous sports: If you’re a hiking, snowboarding, or skiing buff, crank up the frequency you go out to do these activities. They are all great pick-me-ups because they give you all of the great benefits that a traditional exercise program does.
Exercising makes you feel good because, with physical activity, your body releases endorphins. Those endorphins create a feeling of positivity in your brain, which is great when you’re burned out.
Get Enough Sleep
One of the biggest causes of burnout is not getting enough sleep regularly. If you’re someone who wakes up early and goes to sleep late, this one change can make a world of difference for burnout.
Instead of waking up early to get ahead of that work project, sleep in for an extra hour, and see how you feel. If you have trouble falling asleep due to intrusive work thoughts, release them by writing them down. This may not work for everyone, so don’t be surprised if you have to use another method to wind down at night:
- Keep your lights on during the day: Our bodies were created to operate based on a circadian rhythm where we wake when it’s light out and sleep when it’s dark. If you keep your space lighted during the day, when you do turn them off at night, you may be better able to drift off for the night.
- Make your room pitch black: In addition to turning your lights off, close your curtains so outside lights can’t come in. If your curtains let lights in, consider investing in some blackout curtains which are designed to keep out all light. When your room is pitch black, you are more likely to doze off.
- Prepare for bed: Going straight from a computer screen to your bed is not a good idea. If you do that, your body will not have adequate time to prepare for sleep. Instead, ease your body into rest time by taking a warm shower or meditating.
Consider Therapy
Many shy away from therapy because of the negative stigma attached to seeking professional help. But it’s important to put your mental health at the forefront and consider professional help, regardless of others’ perceptions. Also, mental health professionals work under a strict code of confidentiality and will not tell anyone that you’re in treatment unless you instruct them to do so.
Now that the barriers to seeking professional help have been addressed let’s talk a bit about the nature of burnout. Burnout is a mental health issue characterised by negative feelings and cynicism, and negative responses to work-related adversity.
As such, mental health professionals, like counsellors and therapists, may be able to help by giving you the tools to alleviate burnout in your life. They also have the means to draft a custom treatment plan for you.
After a session or two with your therapist, you both could realize that an underlying issue is to blame for your chronic burnout. The therapist will then work with you to overcome those mental obstacles.
The best part about therapy is that it can often be done via a virtual visit from the comfort of your home.
Get a Hobby
It’s easy to get into a never-ending cycle of waking up, working, and going to bed. If this sounds like you, you could benefit from picking up a hobby. You can choose any non-destructive hobby that takes your mind off of worries and business affairs.
If you used to enjoy crocheting, drawing, or making quilts once upon a time, pick up the necessary supplies and give it a go again. You may find out that there’s still passion there. If not, search for a new hobby that makes you feel good.
Disconnect from Social Media
Social media can make burnout worse. If you’re already feeling disenchanted with your work situation, seeing others boast about their perfect jobs can deepen your negative feelings about your job. Also, as you’re trying to heal from burnout, it’s difficult to get fully relaxed if your mind is focused on social media.
If you disconnect from social media, you may find that you experience less mental fatigue and can get more rest at night.
Final Thoughts
Now you know that, while burnout can last forever, with adequate treatment, it doesn’t have to. We have shared with you factors that determine how long you may deal with burnout and left you with some tips on getting rid of the condition. We hope that this article is helpful to you in your pursuit of burnout relief!
Content Disclaimer
The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. HealthWorkerBurnout.com disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.
Copyright Notice
These works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. We grant to you a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable licence to view these works, to copy and store these works and to print pages of these works for your own personal and non-commercial use. You may not reproduce in any format any part of the works without our prior written consent.
Copyright © 2022 HealthWorkerBurnout.com
Sources:
https://toggl.com/blog/recover-from-burnout
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/recovering-from-burnout.htm
https://www.olympiabenefits.com/blog/13-burnout-recovery-strategies-youll-want-to-try
https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression#1
